Postgame Quotes: Mississippi State at Texas A&M
October 02, 2021 | Football
Q: The decision to defer appeared to pay off pretty handsomely for you. What was your thought process behind that decision?
ML: I just figured that's what they were going to do anyway, so then there if we won it, we could assure we knew what we were going to have. Nothing really because, to be honest with you, I don't think it matters a great deal. But I knew it would be a tough game. I knew it would be a hot game, and it always is here. I get a kick out of how some places in the traditional SEC think they're hot, but Texas A&M's really hot. I just figured it would be good to get the ball in the second half.
Q: About focus and confidence, did you feel your team - an inexperienced team in this environment - really stepped up this week?
ML: I think we took a step. We've got a ways to go, but we took a step.
Q: Is that Will Rogers' best performance this season?
ML: Yeah, probably.
Q: What made him successful tonight?
ML: I think the guys around him. I thought they protected him pretty good. I see they have him down for three sacks. We only gave up two, one of them should have never happened. I thought we protected him pretty good. I thought receivers got better at making plays.
Q: What does Will Rogers specifically need to improve on going forward?
ML: I think he just needs to continue to elevate and adjust to the players around him and what they're going to do. It's tough because it's a moving target. I think he did a better job of mastering some things as far as being aware of the back side, being aware of their leverage, being aware of their numbers and not forcing plays into bad looks.
Q: How big is it for you guys to come in here on the road and get a win over a good ranked opponent?
ML: It's always good to win at Kyle Field, and I've done it more than most people have. It's awesome to win at Kyle Field. Kyle Field's one of the greatest places. I'd be willing to hear your list if you wanted to offer it of better stadiums to play, but if this is below that top five, I mean you're going to have to get another line of work. It's not going to get better than this. I remember a lady, she lived in San Luis Obispo, California, had lived there her whole life. She said I'm tired of this. I can't wait to get out of this little town, this little hick town. She thought she was going to go to this big city, go somewhere more scenic. Look, it doesn't get much better than San Luis Obispo, California. It's a little bit like Kyle Field, stadium environment-wise. Saying I'd like to get better than Texas A&M, good luck with that as far as game day environments.
Q: What has made Makai Polk so successful in this offense?
ML: I think he's a polished guy. He was a polished receiver and route-runner when he got here. We were very lucky to get him. We recruited him out of high school at Washington State. He told us no and stayed close to home. Then he decided he wanted to catch more balls and knew that we'd thrown it a lot at Washington State, so he came with us here. But what he provides is a good example and a good sort of how-to as far as running routes and finding space and things like that. I do think that the example that Makai sets has helped elevate the other receivers around here. He and Jamire [Calvin], for example, have both run a lot of routes. They're not the biggest. They're not the fastest. They're not the strongest. But somewhere around junior high they're having those passing leagues every day, and I'd love to see the whole southeast get those seven-on-seven leagues going. I think there'd be a ton of receivers then because we have really talented guys, really fast guys. I think you'd have a lot more polished guys and it'd be maybe the greatest receiver place in the country if they did that. A number of the Aggies' players, they played seven-on-seven their entire life, and they kind of look like it too when they catch the ball.
Q: What was your message to the defense before the final possession?
ML: Just try to keep it simple. I think you get into these tense, emotional games and guys will try to make more out of it than there is. They'll try to make more out of it than it is, and if you can just settle everybody down, just take it one play at a time. I know that's easier said than done, but you try to just unify the group attention and focus a bit. I think it helps you do routine basic things instead of a bunch of people running around frantically.
Q: Did your team do a better job not overthinking things today?
ML: Yes, we did a better job of not overthinking. We did our share of it. It was an improvement. We're not there yet, and I don't know if you ever get there. We overthought less this game than any I can think of since I've been here perhaps.
Q: What did you like best about what your team did to win this game?
ML: Played together. We played together, hung in there and didn't struggle with the emotional ups and downs. We bounced back and responded quickly.
Q: How would you describe the reason for issues on special teams?
ML: I think we've just got to work through it. I'd have to see the film. A lot of that happened quite quickly. If we can get the ball through the uprights in practice, we'd better be able to do it in a game because it's the same uprights, same everything. I don't know. I just have to see it on film. There were some penalties, so I don't know what that looked like. You guys see if before I do when you have a TV set sometimes. I thought we should have kicked it in the end zone one time that we didn't. I can't remember all of them to be honest with you. We punted it pretty good time once or twice. That one guy punted it a mile.
Q: After back-to-back losses did you feel like there was extra motivation to get a win heading into the bye week?
ML: Maybe. I felt like we should have won those last two games too. To be honest with you, even though I didn't think we played as well as we can, I thought we played well enough to win. We just didn't win.
Q: The two-minute drill before halftime, is that the best you've seen this offense click this season?
ML: We've been doing some of that in the fourth quarter. I guess it was in the second quarter. I thought we've done some of that stuff in the fourth quarter, but we haven't done that in the second quarter, which is pretty important too. I do think it was kind of a momentum shift, which was important going into halftime.
Q: Were you surprised they ran man-to-man, single high safety on the two Polk touchdowns?
ML: We moved it pretty well up the field in zone, so it was kind of the changeup. That's what they like to do some in the red zone.
Q: As much as you've talked about this being a repetition-based offense, why do you think Makai Polk has been able to step in so quickly to make this kind of impact?
ML: I think just what you said. He's had a lot of reps. I think, other than Jamire [Calvin], he's had the most running routes and catching balls, compared to anyone else on the team. It didn't just start when he got here in the offseason. Nothing like that. He started somewhere around seventh or eighth grade because they have all those passing leagues, which go year-round. Catching balls year-round year after year, I don't know how many thousands more balls. Thousands. I think this would be a very conservative number. Let's say the average guy they've got 3,000 more balls. Well I think there's huge value to that. Anybody that wants to get passing leagues going in Mississippi, you'll have all the help I can offer.
